


cleverly planned meals

by raekentheory



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Birthdays, Breakfast in Bed, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Motherhood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-27 18:17:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13886412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raekentheory/pseuds/raekentheory
Summary: Five times Jenna gets breakfast in bed on her birthday, and the one time she returns the favour.





	cleverly planned meals

**Author's Note:**

  * For [allidon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/allidon/gifts), [tabbytabbytabby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/gifts).



> For Alli, who not only prompted this, but took it in stride when it spiralled into a 5+1 fic and let me ask her a million kid-related questions. And for Tabby, who wanted more Jenna. Love you both ❤ Also unbeta'd. So if you catch any typos, lemme know.
> 
> Title from _Clever Meals_ , by Tegan and Sara. Thank you to Adri for being my music hero, as always ❤

**1.**

Jenna’s nine months pregnant, her water broke in the dark hours of the night, and the hospital bed is the most uncomfortable thing she’s ever slept in, but she doesn’t much mind, considering it’s the first time she’s woken up to breakfast in bed in _years_.

It’s certainly the first time her husband has done this for her, in any case. And it may be breakfast from the McDonald’s in the cafeteria downstairs, but as she sits there, propped up by her mountain of plush pillows, inhaling calories that funnel directly into the hungry little bean in her stomach, she can’t bring herself to care. The baby keeps kicking emphatically, and Todd’s looking at her with a fond smile from where he’s perched in the rickety chair by the window.

He’d had to rush home from his night shift at the museum to take her. Typically, he’s at home and in bed by now, which explains the bags under his eyes. But their child is about to enter the world for the first time, and he’s told her three times now he’s not missing it for anything. Besides, he’s dozed off at least a few times in the chair.

It’s nearing mid-morning when Todd rises from his chair with the quiet excuse of fresh air and the need to stretch his legs. He winces when he sees her face, and she’s sure there’s longing written all over it. _God,_ she wants out of this bed. But they’d started her Syntocinon drip a little while ago, to slowly and comfortably induce labor, so she’s stuck where she is for the foreseeable future.

“I’ll be right back,” he says, leaning down to press a quick to her forehead. His fingers brush her swollen belly, and then he’s gone.

When he returns a half hour later, he reeks of cigarettes, but there’s a delicate-looking cupcake cradled in the palm of his hand. There’s a crooked candle on the top that compliments the lopsided grin on his lips.

“Nurse said we can’t light it in here,” he explains, placing the cupcake on the small table beside her. Someone’s hastily scribbled _Happy Birthday_ on the side in pale blue icing. It looks neater than his writing, so Jenna knows it must be a worker at whatever bakery he found outside. “Happy birthday, babe.”

It doesn’t make up for him missing yesterday, her _actual_ birthday, but she’s too tired and too hungry and too achy to complain. She devours the whole thing, and it’s definitely the best cupcake she’s _ever_ had.

She goes into labor a few hours later, and in the early hours of July 7th, their baby boy is born. He’s small, has a few tendrils of blonde hair, and the prettiest blue eyes. As blue as the icing on her cupcake. Jenna can say with absolute certainty that it’s her new favourite colour.

His name is Liam, and he’s the best birthday gift she could’ve ever asked for.

 

  **2.**

The next time she has breakfast in bed, it’s her actual birthday this time. It is, however, still McDonald’s.

It’s four years later, and they’re coming back from her parents’ cabin in Oregon. They’re stopped at a dinky little hotel off the interstate, and she’s curled up in bed, Liam pressed to her side. His little face is buried in the crook of her arm, and his fingers are wrapped tightly in the fabric of her shirt.

He’s already wolfed down his pancakes, and is well on his way to a food coma, while she’s only halfway through her breakfast sandwich. It tastes dry, maybe a little stale, and she’s sure it’s because her husband took his sweet time coming back. He’d had no food of his own when he’d arrived with theirs, so she’s sure that’s the case.

“Mommy?” Liam blinks up at her, sleepiness evident in the lilt  of his voice and the droop of his eyelids.

“Yes, sweetheart?” Jenna smiles down at him.

“Cake?” He asks. There’s a hopeful gleam in his bright blue eyes, and he’s carefully stuck out his bottom lip just enough to make it look subtle.

Her gaze flicks overs to his father, who’s face pinches awkwardly. She sighs, ignoring the flare of bitter disappointment in her chest.

“Mommy doesn’t need cake, baby,” Jenna says softly, ruffling his blonde locks. He needs a haircut. She balls up the rest of her sandwich, tossing it into the trash. “But we’ll have some for your birthday, okay? With Mason and Hayden.”

His answering smile is as bright as any sun. “Okay!”

When she moves to stand, he crawls to the edge of the bed and tugs at her sleeve. His little arms lift into the air, and she laughs lightly, bending down to scoop him up. He wraps himself around her like a Koala, and mumbles a soft, content: “Happy Birthday, Mommy,” into her neck.

“Thank you, Liam.”

He’s asleep before she lowers him into his car seat.

 

**3.**

Three years later, Jenna wakes to the sound of a smoke alarm. Panic floods her chest like a broken dam, and she’s out of bed instantly.

Her feet patter loudly against the floorboards as she races downstairs, gripping the banister so tightly her knuckles turn white. She skids into the kitchen, and finds Liam standing there, dish towel in hand, flapping it frantically in the direction of the toaster.

Which appears to be slightly on fire.

“Uh—Mom!” he yelps as she steps into his line of sight. “I can fix it!”

His eyes are wide with panic, and the air thick with the smell of burnt bread. Jenna spots the carton of eggs on the counter, next to a fresh pack of bacon and a frypan. She thanks her lucky stars he hadn’t started with that.

She walks over and unplugs the toaster. The flames die out when she blows on them, but the thing continues smoking heavily. Carefully, Jenna plucks the dish towel from Liam’s fingers, making sure it covers her hands as she picks up the warm appliance and peers inside. The bread is black, nearly indistinguishable from the charred interior of the toaster.

Jenna lets out a hum, picks it up, and heads for the door leading to the backyard to dump it in the metal garbage bin at the edge of the patio—toast, toaster, dish towel and all. On her way back inside, she flips the latch to prop the door open and turns on the ceiling fan in an attempt to clear the kitchen of foul, smoky air.

The smoke alarm stops shrieking a moment later, and Jenna claps her hands together, as if dismissing the whole thing. Liam is hovering by the stove. His face is scrunched with guilt, lower  lip wobbling.

“I’m sorry,” Liam says. His blue eyes are glassy with the threat of tears, and he’s looking between her and back door. “I—I can explain.”

She softens instantly. She walks over to him, crouching down to be eye-level with him. “It’s alright, baby,” she says, giving into the smile tugging at her lips. “We needed a new one, anyway.”

Jenna can see the fear flickering in the depths of his hopeful baby blues, and her heart clenches at the thought of who put it there. “You’re not mad?” He whispers, so quiet she probably wouldn’t be able to hear it were she not this close to him.

“Of course not, Liam.” She reaches up to ruffle his hair, wiping a tear from his cheek on the way down. He blinks the rest of them away, staring as she stands. Hands on her hips, she tilts her head, looking around the kitchen. “Now, want to tell Mom what you were doing?”

His face turns beet red and he rubs at the back of his neck nervously, mumbling something to the floor.

“Hmm?” Jenna taps his chin up with a finger, and the tightness in his shoulders melts away when he sees her patient smile.

“I was…trying to make you breakfast,” Liam says again, this time louder. He starts chewing on his bottom lip. “For your birthday.”

She tries very hard to stop the sudden swell of tears and gratitude that strike her. Some of it echoes out in a little, damp laugh. “Oh, baby,” she smiles. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Liam shrugs. “Wanted to.” He scuffs his foot against the tile, sock slipping a little bit. “It’s your special day. Someone should make you feel like it.”

His words strike at the ache in her chest, the one that opened three years ago, in the cold, lonely winter of ‘99. It eases the wound shut, just a little bit more, the way Liam has done every day that it has been the two of them, navigating life together.

Her eyes scan the counter and all the things he’d taken out to make, and she blinks back the sting of tears as she spots the open bag of bread. “I think we can still manage that. How about we make it together, then we’ll curl up and watch a movie in bed.”

His eyes widen, round with awe. “Breakfast _in bed_?” His mouth parts slightly. “That’s not allowed.”

Jenna cards her fingers through his hair, mussing it more than sleep already has. “It’s my birthday,” she winks. “I think we can bend the rules a little.”

There’s a nearly blinding excitement twinkling in his eyes. “Okay!”

“Okay,” she parrots, patting him on the back. “Now, since we don’t have a toaster, we’re going to be a little creative. Can you get me the milk?”

Liam pads over to the fridge while she starts the cooktop, moving the frypan into place and pulling open the package of bacon. He returns a moment later with milk, tugging at the hem of her shirt. “What’s this for, Mom?”

She grins, and her stomach is one step ahead of her when it crumbles at the thought of her words. “I’m going to teach you how to make French Toast, baby.”

Liam cheers.  

 

**4.**

There’s no smoke alarm the next year, thankfully. Jenna wakes to the pleasant smell of bacon, eggs and _delicious_ French Toast. Groggy with sleep, she doesn’t question the fact that her eight-year-old son seems to have accomplished this without burning down the house. Or why it sounds like there’s the laughter of _two_ people coming from the kitchen.

She merely wraps her housecoat around herself and slowly makes her way downstairs, following her nose. There’s a peaceful smile on her lips as she pads her way down the hall.

And stops immediately in the doorway, breath catching at the sight before her.

David is here.

David, who she met last year when she’d taken Liam to Beacon Hills Emergency for appendicitis. Who’d been so kind and gentle and caring with them both.

David, who, when she’d run into him at the coffee shop outside her work two weeks later, had asked her out. Who she’d said yes to, despite her nerves.

David, who she’s been seeing steadily since. Who Liam had taken an immediate shine to. Who’d suggested lacrosse as a sport to better focus Liam’s abundant and sometimes overwhelming energy. Who’d taught him how to play, and who’s been taking him to and from practice when he can.

David, who she doesn’t recall informing of her birthday.

He sees her first, and a question builds on her lips and in the rising of one brow. She doesn’t get a chance to speak it, however, because Liam follows the man’s gaze and spots his mother immediately.

“Oh no!” Liam exclaims, waving his hands around frantically. Batter flies the spatula he’s holding, splattering all over the fridge. “Go back to bed, Mom! We’re not done yet!”

“Done what?” Jenna asks, leaning against the doorframe. She crosses her arms, and she can’t help the laugh that bubbles up in her throat as David winces, staring at the mess the little boy just made. “Making a mess of my kitchen?”

Liam seems to notice what he’s done then, and gasps, mouth agape. He shoots his mother a guilty look. “Uh. I can fix it?”

“Here, let me. You get back to pancakes, kiddo,” David says, nudging Liam back towards the fry pan he’d been evidently pouring mix into before she’d interrupted. Her little boy shuffles awkwardly from foot to foot, glancing at his mother while poking at the cooking batter. David grabs a handful of paper towel from the roll, cleaning the fridge and looking over at her.

“Liam asked for my help last week, when I dropped him off.” There’s a shy smile on his lips. He looks nervous. “I hope that’s okay?”

Warmth flares in her chest, and Jenna nods. She doesn’t really trust herself to speak.

There’s something about seeing them work in tandem as David returns to cooking with her blessing that brings tears to her eyes. She watches as he pulls the tray they’ve clearly been stacking pancakes on out of the oven, and holds it out for Liam, who dumps his latest creation on it. She can see a dish with eggs and bacon, and another with French toast, kept warm inside the oven.

The boys don’t take long to finish up, and then Liam’s ushering her back upstairs, little hands pressing insistently against the small of her back. “You need the full experience!” He claims.

A few minutes later, they arrive with plates of food, a blanket to keep crumbs from the duvet (Liam’s suggestion, David notes proudly). The little boy clambers onto the bed, taking a seat next to his mother and squeezing close against her side. He pats the bed next to him. “David! You gotta join too!”

He looks to Jenna, raising a brow and pointing at the seat Liam’s saving for him. “May I?”

“Of course,” she says, and she doesn’t know why, but a blush creeps across her cheeks. It’s not like it’s the first time he’s been in her room, but there’s something different about the of the three of them, sharing breakfast amongst a mountain of pillows while watching _F.R.I.E.N.D.S._ Something far more intimate than anything they’ve done so far.

Something warm and comfortable and safe.

Something that feels distinctly like family.

 

**5.**

It becomes tradition, after that.

Her two boys waking her up the morning of her birthday with breakfast in bed and an episode of _F.R.I.E.N.D.S._ Every year, for the next ten years, they enjoy a few quiet moments together as a family. Sometimes, if it’s a weekend, it’s longer. But most years they’re shuffling off to school and work afterwards, always gravitating around each other, a neat little unit of three.

That is, until the year their unit gains a fourth.

Her husband and son are absent that morning. They’re on a trip down to Stanford for lacrosse tryouts, and they’d chosen to drive down the night before and stay in a hotel in order to make early morning practice. She’d given the green light, shrugged it off and said that they could have their morning when the boys returned. After all, they’d have Liam’s birthday _and_ his obvious success to celebrate. She didn’t mind.

So it’s to Jenna’s utter and complete surprise when her eyes flutter open, sunlight flooding her bedroom with warmth, and she smells breakfast already. She glances at the clock, frowning. There’s no way they’re back, given that she’s pretty sure tryouts are starting right this second.

She sits up, fully intending to put on her housecoat and get some answers when there’s a careful knock at her door.

“Mrs. Geyer?” A quiet voice calls.

She smiles. _Theo_.

“Come in!” Jenna responds, resting back against her pillows. He toes the door open with his foot, and offers her a nervous smile as he pokes his head in. Her room fills with the smell of bacon and eggs almost immediately. “And what have I told you about the name?”

“Sorry, Jenna,” he chuckles, dimples creasing his cheeks. “I made you breakfast. I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course,” she waves him in, warm, welcoming smile sliding easily into place. “How come you’re home? I thought you’d have gone with the boys.”

“I was going to, but—well, Liam mentioned this was tradition.” She watches as he places the food gently at the edge of her bed, then shrugs.

“It is,” she nods.

Theo looks a little nervous, rubbing at the back of his neck with one hand. “And I didn’t want you to be alone on your birthday. I know what that’s like, so…”

He seems to realize what he’s said as soon as the words are out of his mouth, and clams right up, taking a step back and away from the bed. It breaks her heart every time he gets like this. She’s seen it a handful of times since he moved in with them last Fall, and every time, she wishes she could turn back time to save him from his childhood. Save him from the monsters that took him away from his family. Save him from the nightmares he still has, sometimes.

“Where are you going?” Jenna asks, reaching for the tray of food as he takes another step towards the door. He blinks, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights. She raises one brow at him, waving her hand over the plates of breakfast before her. “You expect me to eat all this myself?”

“Oh,” Theo says, chewing on his bottom lip. “Did I make too much?”

She can’t help but laugh. “I know he looks like me, but Liam certainly doesn’t get his eating habits from me, thank you very much.” She pats the seat next to her, and reaches for the remote. “Come on. Good company is also part of my tradition, you know.”

He hovers at the edge of the bed, looking unsure. He’s closer now, at least.

Close enough she can see the smile tugging at his lips when she says, voice dropping to an almost conspiratorial whisper, “It _is_ my birthday. I don’t think you get a choice.”

The smile stretches out in full, and it’s Theo’s turn to laugh. “Alright,” he nods, and sinks onto the mattress next to her. He leans back against the pillows, swiping a piece of bacon and eyeing the television. “What are we watching?”

The title screen is already up and paused, Netflix patiently waiting in place on the last episode she’d watched the last time she’d been home with a nasty cold. She gasps, fork filled with egg halfway to her lips. “Have you never seen _F.R.I.E.N.D.S._?”

He swallows, then shrugs timidly. “I didn’t watch much TV as a kid.”

“Not even before?” Jenna frowns. She doesn’t need to say _before what_. They’ve talked about it enough, with Liam and with David, too. As a family. The boys laid it all out on the table last year, after the Hunters and the war. They’d wanted no secrets, and Theo had wanted them to understand what taking him in really meant.

He shakes his head. Jenna _hmphs_. “Well, we’re changing that. Immediately.”

She directs Netflix back to the very first episode of the series, and settles in next to him, shoulders touching, setting the tray of food across their laps. She checks to make sure he’s not uncomfortable, and when she finds him smiling back at her, half a pancake already on its course to his mouth, she hits play.

When David and Liam arrive hours later, they find the two passed out. Theo’s head is rested on her shoulder, the tray of food is completely empty, and Netflix is paused partway through the first season, stuck displaying: _Are you still watching?_

 

**+1**

The first time Jenna makes someone else breakfast in bed, it’s a veritable feast.

She supposes it would have to be, of course, to be feeding a twenty-three-year-old werewolf and his chimera boyfriend. Or fiancé, she supposes she should start calling him now.

They’d given them the news last night, after making an unscheduled surprise visit to the Geyer household. They’d entertained Jenna with stories of school and pack updates until David had gotten home from work, and only _after_ Theo had been talked into updating him on the changes in Stanford’s Medical program since his time there (like he did _every_ time the boys came over) had they been able to tell them both, together.

Jenna had already known it was coming, of course. She’d been talking over the how and when with Theo for weeks, along with Mason.

The four of them had stayed up late celebrating and planning, but Jenna had still risen fairly early, intent on trying to surprise them. She knows full well that her soon to be son-in-law enjoys getting up at dawn to go for runs, so she hopes that for once, he sleeps in.

By some miracle, the universe allows it, and half an hour later, she’s coaxing David out of bed with a strip of fresh bacon. He munches on it, half-asleep but looking incredible content, and follows her back downstairs quietly to the kitchen. Her plan is strictly to get his help, but the second he sees the food, his stomach grumbles and he groans happily.

Her husband reaches for the nearest plate—more bacon—looking dead set on devouring the whole thing then and there. Jenna’s forced to slap his hand away with a laugh. “Don’t touch,” she says, shaking her head at the wounded look he shoots her. “It’s for the lovebirds, but I don’t have enough hands.”

“But what about me?” David says, sticking out his bottom lip in his best impression of seven-year-old Liam. She rubs the stubble on his cheek affectionately.

“There’s enough for everyone.”

“They eat like horses, darling.” But he follows her up the stairs all the same, carrying the bacon and tray of coffee cups.

Jenna manages to knock despite holding both the eggs and French toast, and isn’t the least bit surprised to see Theo answer the door, already half-dressed in his running clothes. He blinks several times at her before spotting the food, and his mouth drops open slightly. “Oh my god.”

“I know it’s not your birthday,” Jenna says softly. “But I thought I’d return the favour anyway.”

Theo swings the door open, taking one of the plates to free up her hands and dropping a light kiss to her cheek. Without a word, he pads back over to the bed, and drops unceremoniously onto it, careful not to spill toast. Liam sits up instantly with a loud _Buh!_

He looks around, startled, and then notices the plate of French toast sitting almost directly beneath his nose. “Holy shit.”

“Language, young man,” Jenna teases, stepping into the room. She watches as Theo crowds into Liam’s space, pushing him nearly to the edge of the bed to make room for the two of them. Laughing, she and David sit cross-legged, filling out the space in a sort of half moon shape.

Liam immediately begins shoveling eggs into his mouth once the plate is within his reach. Theo shakes his head at his fiancé as he fires up the Xbox, scrolling over to Netflix and passing the remote to Jenna. It’s always her decision to pick, where episodes of _F.R.I.E.N.D.S._ are concerned.

With a chuckle, she picks the second part of _The One With The Proposal_ , and throws Theo a conspiratorial wink. He smiles fondly back, cheeks turning bright red as he starts on his food, surely remembering that they’d only watched this two weeks ago, after he’d come over to talk to her about asking Liam to marry him.

They’re nearly finished the episode, watching Chandler propose to Monica, when he knocks shoulders with her, catching her attention. “Thanks, Jenna,” Theo says softly. “For everything.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiles, tilting her head. She can feel the teasing grin stretch across her lips. “And I think we can go with Mom now, don’t you?”

The nervous look drains instantly from his face, replaced with something halfway between shocked and touched. Beside him, Liam chokes on his breakfast. And David laughs so heartily he nearly falls off the bed backwards.

“Jesus, darling,” her husband coughs, thumping his chest. “They just got engaged! Give the boy a break.”

“And? He’s been my son for years, now they’re just making it official,” she shrugs, fixing David with a grin. “What’s your point?”

“God, you are so alike,” Liam says, wrinkling his nose and looking back and forth between his mother and fiancé, the latter of whom hasn’t stopped staring. The mist in his eyes is either because he hasn’t blinked, or because of her words. Probably the second one.

Liam reaches out, twining their fingers together and squeezing, bringing Theo back to the present. He laughs, shaking his head. The dumbfounded expression quickly melts into a smirk. “Okay. _Mom_.”

It wipes the shit-eating grin right off her face, and then the moment is over as Netflix skips the credits and begins playing the next episode, opening jingle blaring from the TV speakers. As they settle in to watch, Jenna finds herself smiling broadly, looking from each member of her present company and back. Feeling safe, and happy, and home.

Having breakfast in bed with her family.


End file.
